Diagnosis:snout short, less than 60% of head, broad and rounded at tip. Lower lip not continuous, interrupted at centre; barbels not fringed, nearer to tip of snout than to mouth and not touching it. Gillrakers 16-31 (36). Dorsal finrays 27-48; anal finrays 16-35. Five rows of scutes, dorsal 7-19, lateral 24-44 on each side, ventral 6-13 on each side, with lines of smaller stellate bony plates between the dorsal and ventral rows. Colour: back olivaceous grey, flanks lighter, belly white. Size: to 211 cm, usually 110-140 cm.

Habitat: on bottom, mainly near shore, over sand and mud; usually solitary, but swarms when hibernating or during spawning migrations; less abundant than A.stellatus. Food:molluscs, crustaceans, small fishes (anchovies, sprats, gobies). Reproduction: enters rivers from April to June (a few in autumn), spawning from May to June; natural spawning not extensive, maintained chiefly by artificial propagation.